The Only One
by Wesfan1234
Summary: Grace and Liam are the children of a slayer and a watcher. Let the chaos begin.
1. The Kids

Title: The Only One

Author: WesFan1234 (otherwise known as Crayonbreaky Gal on other sites)

Summary: Grace and Liam are the children of a slayer and a watcher. Let the chaos begin. This is the sequel to the trilogy "Dreams", "Nightmares", and "Awake and Kicking". These kids have some amazing abilities for eight year olds. Their parents don't want them to use these abilities because they want them to be normal kids. But there are always ways around parents.

Rating: PG-13 (mostly for language and a little violence for now)

Pairings: Wesley/Faith (oh good grief, they're married in this), Connor/Dawn, and maybe some more, we'll see

Disclaimer: He owns most of what I am writing about. Except for Liam and Grace. I just wish I had his brain so I could be that kind of writer. We love you, Joss. But only in a friendly, you're a nice guy way. The other way is just eww.

Author Note: You knew it had to happen. So here it is. You know, I had this part typed in since August. I so wanted to do this fic, but I didn't know whether it would work until I finished the other. Well, I think that it does. I hope that it does. Does this sound a little strange. Also, if you don't think eight year olds talk this way, you haven't met mine. Kid drives me bananas. So enjoy, and please, please review.

What has happened so far (from the three fics before):

--This fic follows the AU storyline that the fifth season of Angel did not happen. This takes off from the standpoint of Jasmine dying by Connor's hands. After that, total AU. All of what happened in BTVS happened.

--Wes and Faith went through lots of trials to get to this point. Grace and Liam are eight years old, a product of this union. But Faith and Wes have only been married for seven.

--There was a demon war on the West Coast, approximately nine years before this story happens. This is when Faith and Wes get together.

--People now know about demons; the Council helps out local law enforcement around the world keep the peace between humans and demons.

--Grace is the name of Faith's deceased grandmother.

--Wes named Grace; Faith named Liam.

--Wes translated a prophecy concerning Faith and a new kind of slayer born from her.

--Faith had a vision of what Grace will become in the future as she was giving birth.

--Wes is now estranged from his family.

--Giles is the head of the Council.

--Cordy is alive in this fic because a nasty demon brought her back in the prequels to this. She has no powers whatsoever.

OK, now have I confused everyone? Good. Then on with the fic.

Chapter One – The Kids

"Hello everyone. My name is Mrs. Cochran and welcome to second grade. We have a few new faces this year, so why don't we go around the room and introduce ourselves. I also want to know what each of you did on your summer break. Why don't we start with you Liam?"

What? Start with him? Oh man, this sucked big time. He hated talking out in class, much less sharing his personal stuff. His dad said that he had to be a big guy now. No more broodiness. He silently wished he had brought out Butler's Classification of Demons from his backpack and put it in his desk just so he could reach in and touch the old, soft leather when he felt the need. It sometimes calmed his nerves.

"Liam?"

"Oh, hi. I'm Liam."

"Please stand and introduce yourself. Liam's new this year."

Thank you so much for pointing that out.

Liam stood from his chair. He had noticed how much taller he was than most of the other kids in his class. Strike one against him. How much skinnier he was than the rest of them. His mom was always feeding him. Nothing stuck. Strike two. He pushed his glasses up to his nose. Strike three. Nerd city his sister sometimes called him.

The geek was another one of her nicknames. Most of the time he didn't get her back because why should he bother. But that one time he did he put a frog in her bed. His mom made him muck out the stalls for a whole week. Now there were no horses, no stalls, no fun time.

They'd moved and he'd just have to deal. His sister had told him that morning. "You know, just deal, Liam." For one whole year.

"My name is Liam."

"Why doesn't everyone say their full names and who they may be named after? Does anyone here know what their names mean?"

Several in the class raised their hands.

"OK. My name is Liam Charles Wyndam-Pryce. I'm named after my uncles." Liam sat down quickly, trying to take the attention away from himself. He ran his hand through his wavy brown hair to calm his nerves.

"Thank you Liam. Liam has been living in England for the past couple of years. So I want you to welcome him, show him around."

The girl next to him smiled, showing her two front teeth missing. "Hi, I'm Larissa . . . ."

Liam just wished he could go back there right that instant. Maybe his aunt Willow could show him a spell to transport him there. But no. There were rules against that. Dad's rules he called them

1) No magicks, especially at school.

2) No talking about demons and such, especially at school

3) No weapons or fighting, especially at school

That last one applied more to his sister than himself. He could control himself unlike . . .

"My name is Grace. I mean Cordelia Winifred Grace Wyndam-Pryce.

"That's a long name," the boy next to her spoke.

"I'm named after my aunts Cordelia and Fred. Well, Fred's a girl and Cordy's a . . . a girl too. And my parents picked Grace because it's a lot like my mom's name, but not quite. And it was my great-grandmother's name. And the rest of it is my dad's name. So that's my name."

"Thank you Grace. That was very informative. Grace just moved here from England, so I want each of you to show her the ropes. Her brother Liam is in the other class."

Oh great. So now everyone knew she had a brother. A twin brother to be exact. Maybe they'll think he flunked and had to be held back since he was so tall and all.

Grace shoved her unruly, black hair behind her ears, but it wouldn't stay. She wouldn't let anyone cut it too short because the one time someone did that it made her look goofy. Her mom told her whatever, just as long as she kept it brushed. Which she had tried to do that morning. Her dad finally took the brush from her to help her along. He always did a great job of it. Something she wasn't supposed to tell anybody.

Grace also noticed that she was almost the shortest in her class. That didn't bother her too much, until someone made fun of her. Then she'd have to kick his or her butt. Which she wasn't supposed to do because Mom had these rules to follow.

1) No bad language, especially the kind that Dad used when he got irritated with Mom. He didn't want to have to explain to the teacher what the word might mean.

2) No demon talk. Geez, now that one was a no brainer.

3) No fighting. Applying to Grace mostly.

That one definitely didn't apply to her brother. He was so not into fighting. He just scowled and walked away. Her mom said that was the better way to handle it, but she knew her mom was lying, since her mom was the best butt-kicker she knew.

She just wished she had brought her ceremonial knife to school so she could keep it in her desk. Good luck charm and all. Most girls had dolls and pretty dresses. Grace had a cool knife, which sat on a high shelf, because Dad thought she might hurt herself with it. Parents are so stupid sometimes. She'd never cut herself with it. She could practice her throwing technique with it though.

At recess, Liam grabbed a book out of his backpack to take down to the playground. On the outside, it looked like a Harry Potter book, but on the inside it was a reprint of a demon text he had been trying to translate. His dad hadn't wanted him to look at it, but instead to go outside and ride his bike. So he rode his bike for twenty minutes, and then came back to the book.

"Hey, which Harry Potter?" a kid named Steve asked.

"Fifth." Short answers usually made most people leave him alone.

"I've only seen the movies."

"Yeah." Liam sat down to read.

"See ya later." Steve called over his shoulder.

Liam saw his sister out of the corner of his eye, talking to two boys.

"Hey, Spiderman is way cooler," he heard the first boy say.

"Wolverine's my favorite. Those re-tractable claws are so cool." Only his sister would like Wolverine. "Hey guys, my brother's over there."

"You guys don't look anything alike," the second boy pointed out. Except for their blue eyes. Dad's eyes.

"And that's a good thing. Liam?"

"Hey."

"Notice he doesn't talk a lot."

"My sister's a teenager. Who doesn't talk a lot. My dad says that's a good thing."

"Liam, you coming to recess down on the field?"

"My book."

"Oh, you can bring it with you. Come on."

Grace drew Liam up. He towered over the two boys.

"Hey, you're tall. You play basketball?"

"No, not really."

Grace took a hold of his arm to drag him down to the field for recess. There were lots and lots of kids running around aimlessly. His mom sometimes said a school playground looked like a pack of feral dogs running around. He thought maybe a pack of Heski demons would describe it better. At least the dogs stayed in packs.

One of the kids, Hunter, handed him a basketball. "I'm not good."

Liam lined it up and threw the ball. It went in without making a sound.

"Nothin' but net," Hunter yelled. He threw the ball back to Liam. "Shoot from over there."

Liam did and it went right in. Then he noticed Grace flipping through his book. Uh-oh. Throwing the ball up again without looking, he raced over to where Grace was standing.

"Oh, you are in big trouble. Remember Dad's rule number one or is that Mom's rule. I can never keep them straight."

"I didn't change the book at school, so technically . . . ."

"Yeah, like Dad's gonna believe that one."

"Please don't tell him. Please."

"What'll you give me?"

What on earth could Grace want from him? A book? Not her style. His latest translation? Not unless necessary.

"I want to play your new video game for an hour tonight without you around."

"And mess up my level?"

"I promise I won't. Unless you want Dad to know about this little incident."

"OK, OK. Deal."

"Cool. Here." Grace handed the book back to him.

Two girls in their dress uniforms walked by, snickering under their breaths. Grace folded her arms over her chest and glared. Liam just watched as they strode by. He liked girls but didn't have the first clue what to say to them. Most of the time all that came out was gibberish.

"Will you look at those two? Like they rule the place. Girls."

"You're a girl, Gracie." Not that she looked like one other than her hair being somewhat long and curly. Her brand-new white uniform top was already stained with something and it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

"Don't call me Gracie. And yeah, I'm a girl. And don't you forget it mister." Grace pointed at him and walked away.

Hunter skipped up to him, watching Grace all the while. "Hey, you should play basketball more. You made every shot. You can't miss."

"Yeah, I can," Liam answered.

TBC

Next: The parents.


	2. The Parents

Note: Just wanted to establish the main characters. Two chapters for the price of one. Enjoy!!

Chapter Two – The Parents

"You missed."

"I know that darling, so get out of the way so it won't happen again."

Wesley aimed his crossbow at the snake-like demon rising out of the hole in the floor.

"Thought you said this one was an easy one."

"It would be if you could quieten down for just a few minutes, dear."

Faith watched as her husband shot the demon full of arrows. "If you want I can go . . . ." The demon fell over, dead. "Never mind. Nice shooting."

"Thank you."

"Now tell me again why we're here?"

"Because the Council feels . . . ."

"But we don't usually take orders, you know."

"Giles?"

"I know. Favors and all. Plus, money. That's a good thing."

"Yes. It does happen to pay the bills."

Faith and Wesley walked over to the grotesque sight on the floor.

"How do we get rid of it now? 'Cause, public bathroom?"

"At least it's a men's restroom this time," Wesley told her, remembering an incident from years past where the two had to hide out in a women's restroom for a while.

"Good times. A lot cleaner too. We could just leave it?"

"No. That won't due."

"We have to chop it up, don't we?"

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid that we do."

"Have I told you how much I hate this part of the job?"

"Yes and with great intensity."

Luckily they wouldn't be interrupted because the building was under renovations and devoid of most people.

"So, you nervous?"

"About hacking this thing up?" Wesley asked as they worked.

"No you dumb . . . ."

Wesley stuck his finger up to stop her.

"I know. If I don't stop saying it, then Gracie won't either. I'm tryin' here, OK?"

"I know. Not easy. And I am a little nervous, but for Liam, not Gracie."

"Been way too quiet lately."

"Isn't he always?"

"Were you like that as a kid? I mean, quiet?"

"Only because I had to be."

"Yeah, I hear ya on that one. Better to be quiet than to . . . ."

They both knew about their respective childhoods. Which made them want to be better parents, by letting their children be children. Neither wanted their children to grow up too fast.

"You know, this smell is really getting to me," Faith told him, gagging. "I need some air."

"Not just trying to get out of it."

And as Faith ran into a stall, he guessed that no, she wasn't trying to get out of it. If she was, then she was a great actress.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" he asked outside the stall door.

"Yeah, I'll live. Can you finish?"

"No problem."

Wesley finished in short order and wrapped it in plastic. "You ready?"

Faith came out of the stall looking pale and shaky. She rinsed her mouth out at the sink and patted her face dry.

"Maybe you're coming down with something?" he offered.

"Second time this week. I'm not so sure about that."

"Let me drag this down to the dumpster and we'll be on our way."

"Thanks."

Wesley dragged the dead thing down the back stairs and out the side door into an alley. Throwing it in the dumpster, he turned to look at his wife.

Ah, his wife. For seven years, they had called each other husband and wife. Who would have thought that was possible? Two kids, a house in the suburbs and a crossbow in his arms.

"Why don't I take you home so you can rest and I'll pickup the kids."

"Sounds like a plan," Faith told him as they strode out of the alley.

"Nothing like a hard day's work."

TBC

Next: Boy, they sound really ordinary, except for the demon slaying part. Well, it's not gonna stay ordinary, that's for sure. So stay tuned.


	3. Regular, Ordinary Life

Chapter Three – Regular, Ordinary Life

As Grace bounced her way out of her classroom at three, she saw her dad instead of her mom waiting for her. Sometimes it bothered her when he picked her up. Grace understood that her mom's job was sometimes dangerous, so every time there was a change in plan, it made her nervous. But her dad was smiling, so no bad this time.

"Daddy," Grace yelled as she ran into his arms. He squeezed her tight and placed a kiss on her forehead. Something her broody brother would never let anyone do now. Mom sometimes snuck one in at bedtime, otherwise no smoochies for Liam. Now, her mom and dad, they gave each other smoochies all the time. She'd never do that with a boy. Yuck. But Dad wasn't a boy, so that was OK with her.

"How was your first day, pumpkin?" She loved listening to her dad's voice, especially when he read stories to them at night.

"Well, we introduced ourselves, then we did math, then recess, and then we sat down on the rug to listen to this great story. By then it was time for lunch. Stevie got in trouble at lunch. Then we had art. I made you a great picture. Then we had handwriting. I hate handwriting. Then Claire got in trouble for talking too much. Then we broke into our reading groups, which was fun because I can read really well the teacher said. Then it was time to go."

Liam walked up to the two. Grace knew exactly what he would say when Dad asked him the question.

"Liam, how was your first day?"

"Fine."

Hunter yelled goodbye as he raced down the stairs to be picked up.

"Looks like you made a friend."

"Yeah."

Man of no words, Grace thought.

When they got home, Mom was lying on the couch. That was so not of the good.

"Mom, did everything go OK today?" Liam asked slowly, looking their mother over.

"I'm fine. Still haven't adjusted to the time change."

Grace knew it had been two weeks since they'd arrived. Why couldn't they have gone to Cleveland to be with Uncle Xander? Instead they ended up in stupid California. At least it was warm most of the time and not raining like it was in England.

"Homework?" her dad asked.

"Nah. First day and all. But the teacher said by next week we should have lots." Grace hated homework with a passion. Maybe she'd con Liam into doing some of it.

"How 'bout the handwriting, kiddo?" Her mom was now up and moving.

"Do I have to?"

"Just fifteen minutes today. Gotta be able to read your stuff."

"I know. I know." Since her mom's handwriting was crap too, well, she didn't know why it mattered.

"Liam?" Her mom ruffled Liam's hair. God, she couldn't believe that he was almost as tall as Mom. She'd give anything to be a little taller. Everyone thought that Liam was her older brother, when in fact he was only older by a couple of minutes. Her dad had called him an eager beaver, whatever that meant.

"When does Dawn get here?" Oh great, Dawn. Just what she needed. She hoped that Connor didn't tag along too. Those two were joined at the hip.

"About an hour."

"Just as long as she doesn't cook," Liam mumbled. He had that right. Her dinners stank.

"Don't worry. All taken care of." Dad was at it again. "Dinner's in the crockpot."

All three groaned in unison. "Now I am going to barf again." Mom loved teasing Dad about the inventions he cooked. Unfortunately, sometimes it even tasted good, so he kept trying.

"Beef stroganoff?"

"Does it have those gross vegetables?" Liam was not too keen on anything green.

"Leeks are good for you. Just pick them out. You'll survive."

Liam clutched his heart like he wouldn't survive it. That's what Grace didn't understand. The guy could be perfectly normal at home, and then turn into such a goober at school.

"Very funny. My children are comedians."

The phone rang, breaking up the melodrama. Grace hated when the phone rang. Too many things happened after the phone rang. Her dad hung up after talking for a few moments.

"Just Dawn. Wondering if she could bring Connor with her."

"Just as long as they don't smooch," Grace whispered to her brother.

"They're getting married, Gracie. It's legal." She knew for a fact that her mom and dad had smooched before they got married. But that was OK, since they were her parents.

"They always make us go to bed early," Liam whined.

"Hence, the whining begins. This is why you go to bed at a decent hour," Dad stated the obvious.

Grace looked at Liam with the "cut it out" look she often gave him. "I'm going to ride my bike now."

"Oh no, you're not. Handwriting first."

"But Liam gets to do whatever he wants."

"No, he gets to clean up his room first. Found your experiment in the closet."

Her brother was always performing experiments, trying to fool Dad. Never worked. She didn't know why he had to mix all that gross stuff together. One of these times, he'd blow up his room, then Dad would get really mad.

Dad really never got too mad with either one of them. He was always calm, unlike Mom. Dad only got mad with Mom when she did stuff she wasn't supposed to do, like go after a big demon without him there to back her up.

* * *

An hour later, Dawn showed up with the dork. That's what Liam had named him. He'd known Connor since he was born, but hadn't noticed how pretty Dawn was until recently. That's when he started thinking of Connor as the dork. The dork always got what he wanted, was tall and strong, was smart. Liam didn't think he was that smart, but that's what everyone said. He bet that Connor couldn't translate the Tirezian Prophecies to save his life.

"Hey, Liam," Dawn said as she came through the door. "OK, now when did you grow more? I just saw you last week." She always told him he grew. That didn't bother him just as long as he was bigger than Connor soon, very soon. Then he'd show the dork a thing or two.

Dawn was so smart and funny in his book. Even funnier than his mom. Of course, that's not what Dawn's sister said about her, but what did Buffy know anyway. She was just a dumb slayer, for goodness sake. Her hair was long and shiny. When he was younger, he used to sit on her lap for hours just playing with her hair. That would be totally unacceptable now, since he liked her as a girl. He liked his mom's hair too, just not as much.

"Hey, kid," Connor called from the doorway. He was not a kid anymore. When would the dork get it through his thick skull?

Grace took a flying leap into Connor's arms. Gracie liked Connor because he would spar with her when his parents left. One of these times he should tell on the two of them, because well, he just didn't like the dork. Besides, Gracie could probably take him if she would just grow some more.

"Connor, Connor. I had my first day of school. And it's so neat. The teacher said I was a good reader and I made some friends."

"Who are all guys," Liam pointed out.

"The girls are such, such . . . ." Grace couldn't find the words to finish.

"Ah, girls, Gracie," Dawn finished her sentence for her.

"God, you're telling me."

"Gracie, language," Liam heard Dad yell from the upstairs. Connor and Dawn just smiled.

"You guys are so much fun," Dawn pointed out.

"And you can hand them back at the end of the day," Connor finished.

Thank goodness Connor didn't live with them or life would be horrible. It was bad enough with a sister.

When Mom and Dad came down to say goodbye to them, Liam didn't understand why Gracie had to make such a fuss about them going out slaying. Gracie just worried too much. Not like him. He had confidence that his mom could do her job. That's why she had Dad. To help her be careful and to back her up.

"So, you'll be careful?" Gracie asked the two.

"Yes, we will, Ms. Worry Wart," Faith answered.

"Enough stakes?"

"OK, Giles Jr., we're ready."

"Love you Mom. Love you Dad." Gracie kissed them both goodbye. Kissing Mom and Dad goodbye was not his style. So much like a baby to him. Plus, not cool in front of Dawn.

"Mind Dawn and Connor, you two," Wesley commanded

"Yeah," Liam answered. Just because I have to, not because I want to.

After the parents left, Liam sat down with his new book on folklore.

"Cough up the new game. Remember?" Daggonit, Gracie remembered.

"It's in the family room. But if you mess up my level."

"I won't. I won't even save."

"Hey, Connor, you want to play a new video game?"

"Sure, kiddo."

Connor was going to play his new game. That was so not part of the bargain. But if he said anything now, his sister would surely rat him out. And he'd never get that translation done before next week, especially since he wanted to have it finished before Uncle Rupert came to visit them.

Going up to his room was the only other choice. Just so he wouldn't hear what a good time Gracie and Connor would have. Before he could get up the stairs, the doorbell rang.

"Could someone get that?" Dawn yelled from the kitchen.

Since they were eight now, his sister and he could answer the door, but only if it was light outside, you looked to see who it was, and you never, ever invited anyone inside.

Liam looked out the glass part of the door to see an older guy in a suit standing on the front porch. It was still light out, plus lots of people outside, so he didn't see any harm. So he opened up.

"Can I help you?" he asked the guy in the suit.

"Hello, young man. Is your father at home by any chance?" The guy had the same accent as his dad. Never tell someone that your parents weren't home. Another Dad rule.

"Hold on a sec." Liam slammed the door.

"Connor?" Liam screamed. "Come here."

Connor came racing around the corner. "What?"

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you?" Yeah, I actually did. "Guy at the front door wants to talk to my dad," Liam whispered.

"Good call. I'll talk to him."

Connor opened the door back up to talk to the man. Liam was able to study him a little better. The man was older than Uncle Rupert, and his blue eyes looked a little cold. Liam knew he had this innate ability to size up adults quickly and make judgment calls on whether they were evil or good. This guy didn't look like a very nice man at all.

"Hi, can I help you?" Connor asked.

"I'm looking for Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. Is this where he lives?"

"Who wants to know?"

"His father actually. I work for his father. Now, if you'll just let me in."

"No, I don't think so. There's no Wesley here."

Connor slammed the door in the guy's face.

"Go find your sister," Connor ordered.

"Ah, man."

"Now." Man, Connor must be ticked off at that guy. He threw the deadbolt too. "Dawn, I need you now."

Connor looked out the window to see the man get back into a limo. Liam saw this because he looked too.

"Liam? Grace, please get her."

Dawn came into the living room. "What's up?"

"Were Faith and Wesley going to be out of cell phone range?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

Liam ran to get his sister. The look on Dawn's face said it all. They were in danger.

TBC

Next: Are they in danger yet? We'll see. Nothing can be good with Wesley's father around.

Author thanks to: pari106, Steph, SlayerFan, FaithandWesley4ever (yay, new reviewer to this series!!), Grace(another new one), and Sketchie. You guys are great!! My favorite reviewers. You came back for a fourth installment. Just remember, you don't have to read the first three to really know what is going on. If you do read, that would be great (if you have hours to read it though! I write way too much sometimes.).

Pari106—hey, thanks for the great reviews along the way with all my stuff. I like opening up your reviews each time.

SlayerFan—yes on the second part; Cordy will be showing up soon with news; glad you are still following.

Grace—I like the name too; it's my grandmother's. I was so glad no one dissed it.

Sketchie—I just like getting reviews from you. They don't have to make sense. They just have to be funny, unlike some of the reviews I've been getting on my other fic. (Author cringes and walks away.) That's why I like all of you so much!!


	4. The Job

Author note: Well, I think I've confused a lot of readers. Since this is a sequel of sorts, I should have listed what had happened so far on the first chapter. So I did. And for all of you who don't want to go back and re-read chapter one, here it is again. Tell me if it makes any sense. And if these chapters aren't posted correctly, please tell me. I hit the wrong button on replace and it may have messed up the whole thing.

What has happened so far (from the three fics before):

--This fic follows the AU storyline that the fifth season of Angel did not happen. This takes off from the standpoint of Jasmine dying by Connor's hands. After that, total AU. All of what happened in BTVS happened. We are now nine years into the future though.

--Wes and Faith went through lots of trials to get to this point. Grace and Liam are eight years old, a product of this union. But Faith and Wes have only been married for seven.

--There was a demon war on the West Coast, approximately nine years before this story happens. This is when Faith and Wes get together.

--People now know about demons; the Council helps out local law enforcement around the world keep the peace between humans and demons.

--Grace is the name of Faith's deceased grandmother.

--Wes named Grace; Faith named Liam.

--Wes translated a prophecy concerning Faith and a new kind of slayer born from her.

--Faith had a vision of what Grace will become in the future as she was giving birth.

--Wes is now estranged from his family.

--Giles is the head of the Council.

--Cordy is alive in this fic because a nasty demon brought her back in the prequels to this. She has no powers whatsoever.

OK, now have I confused everyone? Good. This chapter is in memory of Mutant Enemy Productions, which as of today (or until they fire everyone) is no more. Joss has closed up shop. Let's hope the television muse hits him again soon and we don't have to wait for all the movies he's gonna make. Boo hoo. Now on with the chapter four.

Chapter Four – The Job

"So, how do we kill this one?" Faith asked her husband.

"Your standard slice and dice. They like to live in caves for the warm, moist climate."

Faith and Wesley slowly moved through the dark, dank cave, Faith with a sword drawn, Wes handling a flashlight so they could see.

"Nice place to drag someone back to also. It smells funny in here."

"Kind of like sulfur. That must be what attracts the demon. I remember this one demon that Gunn and I had encountered down in the sewers once."

"Pre-broody Angel or post?"

"Post. After he had fired us." Yeah, Gunn, Cordy and Wes should have been dead the first month after Angel fired them, Faith thought. But the three were more resourceful than she ever gave credit. Especially the man now standing beside her.

Faith held her sword like a pro, which she was. She was the second oldest slayer on record, being slightly younger than Buffy. But now at least there were thousands of slayers out in the world, not just two, helping the hopeless.

People knew about demons now because of the demon war on the West Coast. They had won that war finally, and the rebuilding was taking place. Demons still existed, but only the nice ones showed their faces. The evil ones stayed to the shadows once again. People were just more open about knowing.

"You think they'd move on to better pastures."

"Going on instinct though doesn't always afford one the liberty of doing that."

God, he was such a brain. Faith knew that when she married him, knew that when she fell in love with him, and even knew it when she first met him. It took her a while to find that attractive about him. But he never once put her down for her intellect, never thought that she was less than him. He had even told her many times that her mind fascinated him. Her body fascinated him also, but now was not the time to think about that.

She never thought in her wildest dreams that she'd be bonded with this man. A man whom she first despised. Wimp was her first thought of him. After fighting side-by-side with him though, she figured out that he was one of the bravest men she had ever met. He dove into a situation with her, not holding back anything.

Sure, there had been times early on in their relationship that they had held things back only to be hurt. They'd learned from those mistakes and moved on because of the love they shared. And the two children that they shared also.

At first, when she found out she was pregnant, she had freaked. But he had been there to pull her back, make her see that it was the best thing that had ever happened to the two. Whereas everyone else had deemed it a mistake, the two had made a pact to say it was what they wanted and if anyone didn't like it, well tough, or as she had felt like saying at the time, "Go to hell."

It was rough at first, managing babies and slaying, but they had worked through the issues. Now, they stood in a dank cave, hand in hand, ready to vanquish a demon that had tried to drag a jogger off to its lair.

"Hey, shoe," Faith pointed to a jogging show at the side of the cave.

"Could have a shoe fetish?"

"Yeah, right. With a human's leg to go with it."

"When you put it that way." Wesley motioned her to stop her forward progress.

They knew each other's methods like a book now. When Wesley said to halt, he usually had a valid reason. It had kept them out of danger on countless occasions.

Wesley bent down to examine a glowy substance on the ground. "Ectoplasm."

"Gettin' close."

"I would say so. Careful. This one has a very long reach."

Faith hated when he said things like that. Warning her of some danger. Because then it would happen, like some kind of bad omen or something.

Wesley went down to the ground and was jerked away so fast, Faith almost didn't have time to react. Since she could see a lot better in the dim light than he could, she followed his body very quickly. The bouncing flashlight also helped.

"You bastard," Faith yelled as she leapt onto the creature to stop Wesley's forward motion.

"Tentacles. Very strong," he managed to get out. The tentacle had wrapped itself around Wesley's torso, squeezing for all its might.

"Mine. You can't have him," Faith told the thing as she hacked away for it to release Wesley.

"Can't breathe."

And she kept hacking away until she cut through, sending the creature screaming into another corridor.

"Thank you, darling," Wesley gasped trying to draw air into his lungs.

"No prob. You ready to end this?"

"Yes. Before the thing gets away."

Faith helped her big guy off the ground, noticing he was bleeding from the mouth. She hated to see him bleed. It always sent shivers down her spine. He'd bled too much in his life.

"Your mouth."

"It's OK."

The two picked up their pace, finally finding its lair. Shoes littered the area. This creature had lived there for quite some time.

"Has enough shoes to open a shoe store at the mall."

"With the legs still attached." Faith saw a human bone sticking out of one shoe. "Where is it? It doesn't have any place to go."

Faith closed her eyes, trying to sense any sounds at all in the large cavern that they had traced the creature.

"Above," she shouted as she thrust her sword over her head, making the thing come crashing down.

Wesley had already drawn his sword, hacking away at its other tentacles. "Cut all of them off. It's the only way to kill it."

So they hacked and sliced at the thrashing demon until it lay still.

"Have I ever told you that you know how to show a woman a good time?" Faith smiled.

"I aim to please. Especially for you." Wesley snuck in a quick smack on her lips.

"If you weren't so gross and disgusting, I'd give you another one. But in the immortal Queen C's words, Eeww."

"It is rather blah."

"So you think Gracie has Connor tied up by now?"

"What? I told her no more of that game," Wesley stated as they walked back through the caves. "I just hope next time the authorities will tell us about these monsters before anyone else loses their life."

"Don't want to admit to monsters under the bed, now do they?" As most humans didn't want to. "This way," Faith pointed out.

"No, we came this way."

"Hey, watcher. You get lost going to the supermarket. Let me be the slayer."

Wesley grabbed her hand, not caring what she had covering it. He'd taken to doing that early on in their relationship, just as an anchor. Now it was habit. That's what she loved about him the most. His ability to always be touching her. Before, she hated to be touched. Sometimes it seemed even painful. But his hands always soothed her hurt.

"If we get lost?" he chided her.

"You will never let me live it down, I know."

Since the cave corridors wound around so much, it took them awhile to find their way out. It was dark outside by the time they stepped into the fresh air of the park. Stars twinkled brightly above them.

Now that the slay was over, she needed to have a serious talk with him. When she looked into his deep blue eyes, she didn't know whether she could follow through. Would he be angry with her? Their plans would be upset again, she knew. Life would change _again_. They had gotten into a good routine.

"Beautiful night," he finally proclaimed.

"Yeah."

"Something's been bothering you. As you can so aptly say, spill."

"I know that we have this plan, you know."

Wesley was the man with the plan, which was good because her planning skills consisted of hit, slay.

"Which plan might that be?"

"We'll be here for a year. Then what?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet."

They'd lived in Cleveland until the children were one, then moved to Rome for a couple of years, then to England, then to New York, then back to England. And now here they were in some town not unlike the former Sunnydale in California.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything."

"Do you want to settle down?"

"No. It's not exactly that. Although every time we move, the kids have to make new friends. Kind of hard on them."

"Yes, you're right. Especially Liam."

"I just . . . ."

"Whatever you want. If you want to retire and move to a small town, that would be wonderful."

"No. I mean yes. Oh, I don't know what I mean."

"Well, what would make it more clear?"

"Kind of hard to think when you look at me like that." His blue eyes twinkled in the moonlight. He sure was a feisty SOB.

"I could close my eyes," he taunted as she moved closer.

"Nah. I like 'em too much for you to do that."

He was so close to her, she had to tilt her head back to look at him. Tall, smart and broody. She called him that when their relationship had first started. He had done some questionable things at the time, but it wasn't like she had room to complain. She had wondered if he had taken a page from her life at one point. Eventually, she'd gotten him out of the broody part, 'cause, hey, she was Faith and no one could be like that around her for long. Making him too happy had solved that.

Occasionally he returned to that state. It never lasted for very long. But what she had to tell him now might just put him back in that state for a while.

"So?"

He wanted an answer right then. As he bent his head down to kiss her, she knew she'd delayed the inevitable. He'd find out eventually. Better sooner than later.

Even after all the years they had been together, he could still kiss like a dream. Quit stalling, she willed herself. Wasn't this what got them into trouble in the first place? She finally pulled away slightly for some air.

"Wes?"

"Mmm," he rumbled against her neck.

"We could, um, would you be mad if we . . . ."

The cell phone rang. Saved by the freakin' phone.

"Hello. Yes, Dawn. What? We'll be right there. Yes, you did the right thing."

"What? What?" Her mind raced with possible bad scenarios.

"Let's go," Wesley said as he grabbed her hand. He started running to the car.

"Liam? Grace?"

"They're OK," he answered as he jumped into the driver's side and started the car.

"Then what?" she asked again as she slammed her door. "Vampires, demons, what?" Things she could deal with easily.

"No, worse." She could see that his hands shook slightly as he drove home quickly. What would rattle his tough exterior that much? "My father came by."

"Oh, shit."

Faith knew the whole story about Wesley's father. How he had treated Wesley so badly when he was a child. That's why they refused to even acknowledge that whole side of the family. They had their own made-up family of plenty of aunts and uncles. Giles had even taken the role of grandfather, even though the kids called him Uncle Rupert.

They had a nice, extended, non-blood related family. The other blood-related ones could go to hell for all she cared.

"What happened?"

"A man came to the door claiming he worked for my father. Connor saw a limo parked outside. The man asked for me, saying that my father wanted to see me. Connor sensed it wasn't on the up and up and slammed the door in his face. Liam saw it all."

"Damn."

"Yes." Even through the darkness of the car, she could see the white of his knuckles.

"It's OK. Connor's there."

She thought she knew the whole story, but now she wondered if he had left anything out. "There something you're not telling me, Wes?"

"He, um, contacted me a couple of months ago, wanting to see the children. I told him where he could go."

"Hence the move half way around the world." Now it all fit. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Faith didn't want to yell at him. She had done enough yelling at him to fill a lifetime. But he hadn't confided in her when he should have. And it ticked her off beyond belief.

"I didn't want to worry you. There wasn't a problem at the time."

"Obviously enough for you to run at the first sign of trouble."

"No, I wasn't running. I just thought it would be a good idea."

"Sounds like running to me."

They had pulled up into the driveway. Wesley turned off the car and stared straight ahead. "Bloody hell. What did you expect me to do?" he yelled at her.

"Talk to me."

"I am not going to feel this way again. Inadequate, fumbling fool he thought I always was."

"We'll get through this together. Don't worry."

Now she was the tough one. How one man could reduce him to jello scared her. He literally fell into her arms.

"Not going to let him hurt any of us. Got it?"

"Is that an order?"

"Damn straight. Even I can channel Cordelia every once in a while."

Wesley took a deep breath against her. "We should go in."

"You ready to?"

"Yes."

Her news would have to wait a little longer. They had more important fish to fry at the moment. In the end, she'd kick Roger's butt all the way back to England if she had to. Unless the man sitting next to her didn't kill him first.

TBC

Notes: OK, I really blew it. I should have done the summary before. That might have drawn more people in if I had done it. These first few chapters are establishing the characters as they are in the future and their everyday lives. I will crank it up a notch soon. I just wanted to show everyone how normal this family can be. Not that they're normal at all.

Author thanks go out to: Sketchie, tp96, Angelfirenze(new reviewer), gidgetgirl(another new reviewer), Mandie, shiruii(another one), pari106, SlayerFan, and everyone else out there in fic land.

Answers to questions:

Sketchie—I still love you. You are the best reviewer ever (of course, I say that about every reviewer). Hey, when are you updating? I want more of your fic.

Tp96—you hadn't reviewed yet? Must be because I have too many fics going right now and you can't keep up. I need to slow down some. Sleep really is necessary.

Angelfirenze—new reviewer; I hope you make it to this chapter; Liam is tall because he's not like his father in childhood. Everyone has said that Wes was small in childhood. Trying to make it a little different.

Gidgetgirl—OMG, thanks for looking at this. Sorry about no explainage. This is not necessarily just a kidfic. But there's kids in it. Yeah, Faith has mellowed some, for now. Grace will kick it up a notch, don't worry. She's just too ordinary right now for something to not happen to her. Just so you know, I'm the queen of fragmented sentence. As one of my writing instructors once told me, if you know the rule, you can break it all you want.

SlayerFan—OMG, I like your idea! Gives me lots of ideas. Thanks a bunch.


	5. Cordelia Has A Problem

Chapter Five – Cordelia Has A Problem

"Bloody sodding hell," Grace called out as Stevie knocked her to the ground. Those were not words little girls were supposed to use, her Uncle Rupert had told her time and time again. But she just couldn't help herself. Little boys her age could be so dense. Even her mom said that guys were dense. Guess it never went away.

"Grace, you cannot use inappropriate language and call Stevie a name." Great, so Mrs. Kelly caught her again. Over the past week she had busted Grace three times. She definitely needed to get more creative in her language use.

"But Mrs. Kelly, I'm sorry. He pushed me and I just couldn't control myself." She batted her long, dark eyelashes innocently.

"Stevie, you need to watch where you are going next time."

"Sorry," Stevie called out.

Mrs. Kelly just didn't get it. She'd never apologize to Stevie because he was a big ponce. Always knocking her over, hitting her, getting her into trouble.

Now Connor on the other hand was so cool. He would spar with her and not tell her parents. They wanted her to be a little girl. Little girls were for the birds. She wanted to be just like her mom.

Connor got to spar with the slayers all the time since he was their trainer, so why couldn't she? Being a slayer is what she wanted to be when she grew up. Liam told her that she had to be called or something. But with Mom and Dad's blood in her, she couldn't lose.

Since she was one of a kind, they didn't know yet what she would become. Her mom did not want her to follow in her footsteps. Only a few slayers had kids, so only time would tell. And all of them were boys at this point.

She'd let Liam handle the book part while she raised her sword to fight evil.

* * *

Off in the distance on a rooftop not far from Grace's school, a man sat with binoculars watching the young girl on the playground. His duty was to watch the girl and make sure no one else harmed her. His employer specifically stated that there would be a time in which the girl would need to be taken into their custody. So he studied her movements, and that of her parents and friends to figure out when the best time would be to take her.

Just as he was putting the binoculars down, his cell phone rang, bringing him out of his calm demeanor. Maybe now he would see some action.

"Yes, I understand. I will perform the job as specified."

With a quick click to end the conversation, the man climbed down from the roof to complete his mission.

* * *

Faith stood in the kitchen, trying to figure out for the life of her, what Wesley did with a pot she needed. He was the one that unpacked the kitchen not too long ago. He had everything in its place. Only it wasn't exactly the way she would have done it.

Oh, God, he's domesticated her. She never thought that it would happen. Yeah, she was older and wiser. But she thought she would be slaying for the rest of her life, not taking care of two children and being a wife to Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. That was the furthest from her mind when she had first met him. Strangling him had been the first thought traveling through her brain. Her fist almost connected with his face too many times to count those first couple of months.

Somehow, some way, something happened between the two. She thought that maybe it was some spell that he had performed to get her to love him. She could even pinpoint the moment that she fell in love with him. He would call her crazy, but so what. When he jumped on the back of a demon to save her butt, that was the exact moment she thought, man, he would risk life and limb to save me, not just some slayer. No one had ever done that for her. It took her a while to realize that was what she was feeling. Being around him for twenty-four hours a day for several weeks helped.

Now, she was happy as a clam. She got to do her job, got to have her man, and had the house in the suburbs. So why just now did it scare her down to her toes? Because in the scheme of things, nothing had gone wrong. It should go wrong, but it hadn't. Every time they faced a challenge, somehow they worked it out. She kept thinking that the bottom was going to drop out in time. It never had. Nine years was a hell of a long time for her to be attached to anyone. Now she was attached not only to Wes, but also to two beings that made her almost cry every day she saw them.

Living the dream, living it well, she contemplated. Her fears were ungrounded. Things would always work out in the end. Wes would see to it. She would try her best to see to it.

The doorbell rang, breaking her out of her little depression for an instant. Hormonal surges just sucked big time. Making her way to the door, she paused to peer outside to see who would be knocking on her door at eleven in the morning. She had just gotten up herself, having worked the night before killing some nasty demon down by the lake. It took forever for her skin to get warm again after falling in the frigid water.

She groaned when she saw who was standing at the door. Why oh why did she have to be home. Wes was so much better at dealing with the woman at the door.

"Open the damn door, Faith. I saw you peek out."

Faith made a fist and punched into her hand to take out a little aggression. Not that the gesture made her feel any better.

Wrenching the door open, Faith glared at her visitor. "What?" she shouted.

"You don't have to yell. How are you, Faith?" Cordelia asked, looking around outside, like she was expecting someone to pop out after her.

"Fine. What do you want?"

"Can I come in, for God's sake? Rude much?"

Typical Cordelia, Faith thought.

"Not rude, Cor. Just wonderin' what you're doing on my doorstep. Come on in."

Faith waved the taller woman in, pointing to the couch in the living room.

"Nice house, by the way. Very domesticated."

Faith growled a little at Cordelia's assessment. Just because she was domesticated didn't mean she liked people calling her that.

"Now, why are you here? Where's Angel?"

Cordelia immediately broke down in tears.

"He's not dust, is he?"

"No, no. Sometimes I wish he were. Damn, stupid vampire. He's such a jerk."

Oh, great, Faith thought. The two had a fight, and now Cordelia had run to Wes. Only Faith was the only one home. Wes had already gone to work.

"I'll just give Wes a call. Maybe he can help."

"Maybe. I don't know any more. This is all just so confusing," Cordelia said through her tears.

"Angel, confusing? Why on earth would you think that?" Faith asked her sarcastically.

That she had learned from her husband. Angel could be so dense sometimes, especially when it came to women. And he was one of the most confusing creatures on the planet. One moment, you think you know him, the next he's totally different. Sweet one moment, deadly the other. At least she could figure out Cordelia. Maybe it was a woman thing.

"I just hate him. We never should have had Willow fix that Gypsy spell. He could have suffered for an eternity, but no. Now he can be all happy."

"What'd he do? Forget your birthday or something?" Faith asked.

Not that she really wanted to know what the dumbass did to Cordelia, but if it got her out of the house sooner, then that was better.

"No. The dumbass got me pregnant. Can you believe that?"

"What?"

Faith's mind raced a mile a minute. No wonder Cordelia ran to Wes. This was not supposed to happen yet again. For one dead vampire, he sure was producing offspring, which he wasn't supposed to do, ever.

"I know, I know. Not possible. But it happened. And now, I don't know what to do," Cordelia cried.

Cordelia leaned over to lay her head on Faith's shoulders. Faith wanted to pull away. Cordy had never acted like that with Faith. She needed to call Wes and get him home in a hurry before Cordy tried to hug her or something like that. Too much touching.

"I can't believe I'm crying my eyes out to you, of all people."

Now that was better, Faith thought. Sarcastic Cordelia she could deal with.

"Me either," Faith mumbled. "Let's call Wes."

"I just, the last time, he messed up. And I don't want him to mess up again. I thought about going to Giles, but then I didn't."

Faith was glad that Giles would be visiting them in a couple of days. Then Wes and Giles could put their heads together and figure out how in hell this happened again. Well, she knew how it happened, but the why was the question.

Cordelia still hung on to Faith's arm, sniffling as the tide of tears slowed.

"Let go, Cordy. I'll go call Wes."

Faith pulled hard to get her arm out of Cordelia's grasp. The woman immediately fell over in a heap on the sofa.

"Wait right there, OK? Don't go anywhere."

Faith ran for the kitchen, fumbling the phone as she dialed Wes's number. He was going to freak, she knew. Yeah, the last time this happened, he screwed up some prophecy about Connor. Maybe he could redeem himself and figure this all out. Of course, if there were a prophecy, Faith would know about it. Unless Wes wasn't sharing. She just hoped that he hadn't reverted to the old, no sharing Wes. Then they would have to have words.

Only she dialed the number wrong the first time. Punching the button to hang up, she had her finger poised over the talk button to start redialing again when the thing rang in her hands.

"Hello? Yes, this is she. I'll be right there."

Oh, God, what had happened to Grace? With Cordelia's problems forgotten, Faith ran out of the kitchen to find her shoes.

"Hey, where are you going?" Cordelia asked from the sofa.

"Something's wrong with Grace. I have to go to the school."

Faith's face must have been full of worry, because Cordelia immediately sprang up from the sofa, following Faith out the door.

"I'm coming with. No one messes with my Gracie."

Faith really didn't care if Cordelia tagged along. Might be good to have company, to help calm her. Because if anything happened to Grace, Faith might need someone to calm her.

* * *

Grace made her way to the bathroom after not wanting to do the math that the teacher had just given her. At least if she went to the bathroom, she'd stall having to complete it and she could take it home. Then Dad would have to help her. She hated math with a passion. Or that's what her mom had said one day, whatever it meant. And she liked it when Dad helped with homework. He was so patient with her, unlike Mom.

Coming out of the bathroom after washing her hands for the fifth time, Grace knew it was time to go back and face the music. She had fifteen minutes before art. Not enough time to finish the math sheet, but just enough time to fake trying to do some of it.

As she walked out, she noticed a man sitting on one of the school lunch tables near the bathroom. He looked like one of those guys that her dad sometimes worked with in England. Only she didn't know this guy. Don't talk to strangers, her parents had said to her over and over. Only they had met so many people from living so many places, that sometimes she couldn't remember strangers from friends.

"Grace?" the man called.

He knew her name. That was weird. Grace didn't speak to him, but kept moving towards her classroom door.

"Grace, could I speak with you a moment?"

Not in this lifetime, she thought. So she hurried over to the door. But she wasn't able to open it since it was locked. Someone must have locked it from the other side. She'd have to go around to the other door. Not looking back, she made her way through the corridor to the other door. Only the guy on the bench followed her.

Now that was stupid, she thought. I should have just knocked on the door loudly.

"Grace, I'm here about your mother," the man called.

That made Grace turn around to look at him. Liam thought it was dumb that Grace always worried about their mom. That she could take care of herself. Her mom never worried, so why should she. Her dad often said that she had inherited that trait from him. He was the biggest worrywart around. She was glad she shared something with him, other than the blue eyes. Her dad was her favorite. No one could help her like her dad. No one, not even her mom.

Grace still didn't respond.

"Your mother has been injured. If you just come with me, we'll go see her."

Grace's eyes widened. This was how a bad guy stole children. She had known about this from the adults in her life and from a lesson in school. This guy was full of it.

"No," Grace said as she turned to run to the other door.

The man caught up with her, grabbing her arm forcefully.

"Let go," Grace yelled.

"I don't think you understand."

Grace kicked him in the shin, making him yelp in pain. Then she kicked the other leg, getting another satisfying grunt. Then the man pulled out some kind of weapon, and raised it her way. Grace backed away from him, not knowing whether she should run or just scream. Her heart was beating fiercely and she balled her small hands up in fists, wanting to fight her way out of this. But it looked like he had a gun, so she didn't know if the guy would hurt her.

Grace watched as the guy pulled the trigger of the weapon. In slow motion, the dart that came towards her scared her out of her wits. Only her reaction wasn't anything she had experienced before. Putting up her hand, a bright light escaped, making the dart veer away from her and into the wall beside her. The guy's eyes widened in surprise. That gave Grace the opportunity to scream the loudest scream she had ever given in her life.

TBC

Next: A look at the slayer training facility. Giles arrives from England. Wesley freaks out when he finds out Cordelia's predicament.

Author notes: Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated this. I really had major writer's block. Serves me right for starting this so long ago, then typing it in, and then going, help, help. I know this chapter is short, but it's an update. I'll keep trying to do this. So don't expect it to be perfect (this is a really quick and dirty update). I really want to finish this because I really like the characters. So bear with me. I'll get the groove back on, and it'll come naturally. Thanks to all who have reviewed. It's been so long, I haven't gone back to check e-mails. But new people still keep finding this and reading. That is so great of all of you. So I hope you enjoyed this. Keep reading and reviewing!


End file.
